Preditah - Red Bull EP

Like many Grime producers Preditah’s beats are instantly recognisable. Not only due to the signature, brummy accented, ‘Preditah’ vocal sample, but through his bass heavy, 4x4 drum patterns, swirling synths and grinding accompaniments (if you’re unsure of the ‘grinding’ adjective see tracks ‘Attack’ and ‘Airwaves VIP’, you’ll see what I mean). 

The Birmingham local’s most recent offering comes in the form of the ‘Red Bull EP’. A five track journey that epitomises the progression of the Grime producer.

Preditah is in high demand amongst Grime MCs and DJs with his beats being vocalled by the likes of Wiley (Step 1 freestyle), Sway, Maxsta and most recently Scrufizzer on his ‘Stay Fizzy’ mixtape. 

Preditah - Vinyls

Preditah’s ‘Red Bull EP’ is available now via iTunes.

For fans of:

Oldschool Wiley (Eskibeat), Lewi White and Rudekid

Look out for:

A post on Scrufizzer’s ‘Stay Fizzy’ mixtape - coming soon. 

Bristol's Crazy Legs launch record label

One of Bristol’s most successful club nights ‘Crazy Legs’ has branched out of the promotion/hosting scene and has moved towards promoting their own sounds.

Crazy Legs began in 2008 and has steadily risen to the top of it’s  game, including being crowned Venue Magazine’s ‘Top Club Night’ in 2010. 

Since then the team behind Crazy Legs have come together to create their own self-titled record label. 

The first release on Crazy Legs comes from Bristol’s own Ziro. The A side, entitled ‘Coded’, is a deep house tune, sure to resonate with veterans of the scene as well as appeal to those who have a varied interest in bass music as a whole. 

The AA side, ‘Oni’ brings a deep 4x4 kick drum beat coupled with crowing synths and soft snare hits. The production as a whole on this first release from Crazy Legs and Ziro is something to be marveled. 

Remixes on the release come from heavyweights OM Unit and Thefft.

This release is available digitally now from iTunes, Juno, Boomkat, Beatport and Amazon. 

For those who like their music a little more tangible, a vinyl release is planned and pre-orders are available now through Rubadub, Boomkat, Chemical and Redeye. 

Listen to:

Ziro - Coded/Oni & Remixes - http://soundcloud.com/wearecrazylegs

Check out:

Donuts Store Bristol - Owned and run by Crazy Legs contributors Tom and Jamie, this store provides boutique/streetwear brands such as Norse Projects, WoodWood, Rockwell, The Quiet Life, Asics and more. For store info/Crazy Legs enquiries/Bristol nightlife and goings on this place is your one stop shop. www.donutsthestore.co.uk

Look out for:

Bristol’s ‘See No Evil’ street art festival 18th/19th August. Expect to hear these tunes and more being churned out at the official After Party @ The Bank of Stokes Croft on Saturday 18th. Featuring DJ sets from Braiden, Rythmic Theory and Crazy Legs contributor/one half of Donuts, Tom D. 

Xander The Great - Royal Blood

I downloaded this mixtape with the mindset of ‘it will probably sit on my hard drive for months and I’ll forget about it but at least there’s a chance I’ll listen to it one day’. 

However, after playing the first 30 seconds of track one, I couldn’t move from my speakers or bring myself to turn it off and get on with my day. 

London based, baroque inspired, producer Xander The Great, had produced something that compelled me to stay where I was until the ten track mixtape had run it’s course. 

This offering is full of synth-laced, spooky, melodic tunes with a variety of accompanying vocal styles. At first the tracks reminded me of something The Weeknd might produce, but as each track played out, in my mind, Xander has set himself apart from artists such as these. Not only because he is relatively undiscovered (I use that term lightly, as I’m sure it’s only a matter of time until he gets the deserved recognition), but because each track twists and turns in ways you would not expect. 

For example, track five (Hocus Pocus), begins with echoey blips and sharp hits of the snare, followed by quick vocal outbursts. But as the chorus approaches, the blips and echoes of the beginning are nowhere to be seen and you are met with what sounds like a shredded vocal and drums that sound as if you’re listening through a wall, all before the tempo is upped and the track suddenly switches to a jumpy, skat-like vocal sample. 

Hocus Pocus - Xander The Great

This mixtape is a fucked up journey through musical brilliance to say the least.

But don’t take my word for it.

For fans of:

Drake (Pre 2011), The Weeknd and How To Dress Well 

Download:

Royal Blood Mixtape - http://www.mediafire.com/?298540jvj6iluu9

Look out for:

A post on the forthcoming Crazy Legs release by Ziro - Coming soon

Big Narstie - Pain is Love Mixtape

After quite the hiatus from the Grime scene, Brixton based artist Big Narstie is back with his latest mixtape ‘Pain is Love’. 

For those of you who follow him on Twitter you will be fully aware of his #PAIN wave. For those who don’t, give the mixtape a listen and you’ll be fully aware by three tracks in. 

Growing up, Narstie was always a favourite MC of mine, a song that still stands out now is ‘Spun A Web’ Ft. Shystie, Demon, Solo and L Man. 

Now he is back with ‘Pain is Love’. As is expected with Narstie, his lyrical content comes fresh from the roads, speaking from experience his words tell stories as well as coupling the beat well enough to get your face screwing and body moving. 

With over 200,000 downloads in just over two weeks I’m hoping for big things for Narstie off the back of this mixtape.

For fans of:

Frisco, Marger, Footsie and BBK

Download:

http://sbtv.co.uk/big-narstie-pain-is-love/

Look out for:

A post on Xander the Great - Coming soon

Piff Gang - What’s the deal?

Piff (noun) - Street slang, referring to a particularly potent strain of Marijuana.

Gang (noun) - a group, crew or posse of people that share a common interest, goal or aim.

At first glance, Piff Gang, epitomise everything I despise about certain UK acts. Brash, almost try hard, behaviour in their music videos and constant lyrical references to ‘bitches’ and getting money. Now you’re probably thinking, what’s new, and if I despise this aspect of UK music then surely I must despise 90% of the acts that are emerging.

But with Piff Gang there’s something different that I couldn’t quite put my finger on. 

Firstly, after a bit of research on the Piff Gang and discovering that they had been featured in The Guardian as their ‘Band of the Week’, I found there to be a little more truth to their lyrics than first assumed. Within the article, the journalist challenges their manager on the subject of their lyrical content - i.e. do the Piff Gang actually spend most of their days crossing borders, fucking bitches, smoking weed and spending ludicrous amounts of money? In short, yes (according to their management). 

So that’s the issue of lyrical integrity taken care of. 

Secondly, after listening to their first mixtape - ‘Piff Breaks and 808s’ - their style appealed to me. It was something new. 

Having in excess of ten members means the flows are constantly being switched and although the beat remains constant the way each member utilises it keeps a five minute song sounding like a changed track with every verse. This I like. 

The final thing that really sealed my approval of the Piff Gang was their attitude to the beats they use. The ten members are not all MCs, some are producers, and they each share the mentality that an MC should not ‘jack beats’ from other producers, meaning each beat they rap on is new and original and tailored to the Piff Gang style.

For fans of: 

ASAP Rocky, Xander The Great, The Weeknd and Action Bronson. 

Download:

Piff Breaks and 808s Mixtape - http://soundcloud.com/piffgang/sets/piff-breaks-808s/

Plantlife Mixtape - http://soundcloud.com/piffgang/sets/plantlife/

Look out for: 

Posts on Xander The Great and Big Narstie - Coming soon.